Philippines to hold pre-bid conference for long-range patrol aircraft

MANILA, -- The Department of National Defense (DND) has announced that a pre-bid conference for its two long-range patrol aircraft (LRPA) projects has been set for Wednesday Oct. 12, 2016.

The pre-bid conference, to be held by the DND Bids and Awards Committee at the conference room, Basement Right Wing at the DND Building in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, was initially slated to be held last Feb. 15 but was placed on hold due to the May 9 national elections.

The funds for the project, placed at PHP5,976,000,000, will be sourced from the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Modernization Trust Act Fund.

Aside from the airframes, the contract includes sensors, sensor integration, mission support facilities and integrated logistics support package for the Air Force.

In a supplemental bid bulletin posted at the DND website, prospective bidders were told to submit aircraft designs with systems that allows autonomous operation.

"(The aircraft must) be equipped with a system that allows autonomous operation in remote bases ensuring electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic power on ground. The system must also be able to start the engines without ground support," the bulletin said.

This means that the LRPA must be deployable in remote airfields lacking modern start-up facilities.

Aside from this, the airplanes must be equipped with a noise reduction system, which is capable of reducing both cabin vibration and noise and eliminate many of the buzzes and rattles that would otherwise be a major source of annoyance and distraction for surveillance and patrol mission crew.